Former church minister jailed

By NICK KRAUSE

Aformer children’s ministry director at a Howick church – and her husband – have been jailed in the US following the death of their adopted child eight years ago.

Sarah Johnson, who held a ministry with Cultivate Kids at Cession Community Church in Howick until mid-2022, and her husband Timothy returned to the United States last year. They moved to New Zealand in 2016 not long after the death of their child Seth, 7, who died of neglect in March 2015.

The Star Tribune reported that the parents received the maximum one-year sentence – an appropriate punishment given their weeks-long failure to inter- vene with medical care, the judge said. They pleaded guilty to gross misdemeanour child neglect. Seth endured extensive trauma from an inflamed pancreas and possible infections until he died. In his final days, the ailing boy was left in the care of his 16-year-old brother while the Johnsons attended a wedding out of town, the paper said.

The couple reportedly administered “medical honey” and prayed over him instead of taking him to the doctor. At the time of their appointment to Cession Church, no charges had apparently been laid.

Cession-community lead pastor Rev Melissa Powell said the church is committed to ensuring theirs is a place where people are safe and well cared for. “As part of our commitment to the highest standards of care, we willingly agreed to take part in an independent review of the employment process in relation to the employment of Sarah Johnson, a former employee of Cession-Community,” Powell said.

“The review was undertaken by Pathfinding and was managed by our denominational body. This allowed us to be certain of what worked well in our policies and processes and establish any areas where we could improve.

“The review identified that, in this instance, there was a high degree of diligence shown through the processes which were followed. The decision to employ the individual was not, in the opinion of Pathfinding, a negligent decision, nor did it breach legislation or denominational policy.

“Our engagement in the review process has further aided us in prioritising the safety of our church – our members, and those who engage with us through our events and programmes.”

Fears closing hardstands could spread pests to estuary

By LAURA KVIGSTAD, Auckland Council reporter

Funded by New Zealand on Air

The Howick Local Board fears pest species could reach the Tamaki Estuary as boat-cleaning capacity shrinks across Auckland.

Hardstands allow boats to be taken out of the water and cleaned, removing unwanted pests such as the invasive seaweed species caulerpa from their hull.

Six hardstands have reduced their hull-cleaning capacity with three closing over the past year.

The Auckland Yachting and Boating Association says the reduction means only 33 percent of the city’s recreational boats can be cleaned annually when they’re supposed to be cleaned every six months.

Local boards oversee facilities in their area including some marinas. In February the Orakei Local Board voted to put its marina, The Landing, up for sale.

At the council’s planning, environment and parks committee meeting on March 2, the Howick

Local Board asked the council to